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CONSTITUTION 


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d^crnfederatc  ^tate55  of  America. 

ADO^^SBLliNAiinifoU&IrY  BY  THE 

Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America, 
March  lith,  1861. 


JAflTZ:* 


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EXTRACT  FROM  THE  JOURNAL  OF  THE  CONGRESS. 

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Congress,  March  11,  1861. 

On  the  question  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America,  the  vote  was  taken  by  yeas  and  nays;  and  the  Constitution  was  unanim- 
ously adopted,  as  follows : 

Those  who  voted  in  the  afiSramtive  being  Messrs.  Walker,  Smith,  Curry,  Kale, 
McRae,  Shorter  and  Fearn,  of  Alabama,  (Messrs.  Chilton  and  Lewis  being  absent:) 
Messrs.  Morton,  Anderson  and  Owens,  of  Florida;  Messrs.  Toombs,  Howell  Cobb, 
Bartow,  Nisbet,  Hill,  Wright,  Thomas  R.  R.  Cobb  and  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  (Messrs. 
Crawford  and  Kenan  being  absent;)  Messrs.  Perkins,  de  Clouet,  Conrad,  Kenner, 
Sparrow  and  Marshall,  of  Louisiana;  Messrs.  Harris,  Brooke,  Wilson,  Clayton, 
Barry  and  Harrison,  of  Mississippi,  (Mr.  Campbell  being  absent;)  Messrs.  Rhett, 
Barnwell,  Keitt,  Chesnut,  Memminger,  Miles,  Withers  and  Boyce,  of  South  Carolina ; 
Messrs.  Reagan,  Hemphill,  Waul,  Gregg,  Oldhata  and  Ochiltree,  of  Texas,  (Mr.  Wig- 
fall  being  absent.) 

A  true  copy:  .T.  J.  HOOPER, 

Secretary  of  the  CongreaSt 


Congress,  March  11,  1861. 
I  do  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  are,  respectively,  true  and  correct  copies  of 
"The  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,"  unanimously  adopted  this 
day,  and  of  the  yeas  and  nays,  on  the  question  of  the  adoption  thereof. 

HOWELL  COBB, 
President  of  the  Congress. 


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We,  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States,  each  state  acting  in  its  sovereign  and 
independent  character,  in  order  to  form  a  permanent  federal  government, 
establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquility  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity — ^invoking  the  favor  and  guidance  of  Almighty 
God — do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  Confederate  States  of 
America. 

ARTICLE    I. 

Section  1  . 

1.  All  legislative  powers  herein  delegated  shall  be  vested  in  a  Con- 
gress of  the  Confederate  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives. 

Section  2. 

1.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  he  composed  of  members 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  states ;  and  the 
electors  in  each  state  shall  be  citizens  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  mof!t  numerous 
branch  of  the  State  Legislature  ;  but  no  person  of  foreigli  birth,  not 
a  citizen  of  the  Confederate  States,  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  for  any 
officer,  civil  or  political,  State  or  Federal 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  Representative,  who  sluiU  not  have  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  be  a  citizen  of  the  Confederate  States, 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitrtut  of  that  state  in  which 
he  shall  be  chosen. 

3.  Representatives  and  Direct  Taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the 
several  states,  which  may  be  included  within  this  Confederacy,  accord- 
ing to  their  respective  numbers,  which  shall  be  determined,  by  adding 
to  the  whole  number  of  free  persons,  including  those  bound  to  service 
for  a  term  of  years,  and  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all 
slaves.  The  actual  enumeration  shall  be  made  within  three  years  aftel* 
the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  within 
every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall,  by 
law,  direct.  The  numl)er  of  Representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for 
every  fifty  thousand,  but  each  state  shall  have  at  least  one  Representa- 
tive ;  and  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  state  of  South 
Carolina  shall  be  entitled  to  choose  six ;  the  state  of  Georgia  ten ; 
the  state  of  Alabama  nine;  the  state  of  Florida  two;  the  state 
of  Missisi<i2)pi  seven  ;  the  state  of  Louitiiana  six,  and  the  state  of 
Texas  six. 


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4  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  state,  the 
Executive  authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such 
vacancies. 

5.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall  choose  their  Speaker  and 
other  officers ;  and  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment ;  except 
that  any  judicial  or  other  federal  officer,  resident  and  acting  solely 
within  the  limits  of  any  state,  may  be  impeached  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds 
of  both  branches  of  the  legislature  thereof. 

Section  3. 

1.  The  Senate  of  the  Confederate  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
Senators  from  each  state,  chosen  for  six  years  by  the  legislature  thereof, 
at  the  regular  session  next  immediately  preceding  the  commencement 
of  the  term  of  service  ;  and  each  Senator  shall  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled,  in  consequence  of  the 
first  election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  three 
classes.  The  seats  of  the  Senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated 
at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year  ;  of  the  second  class  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  fourth  year  ;  and  of  the  third  class  at  the  expiration  of  the 
sixth  year ;  so  that  one-third  may  be  chosen  every  second  year  ;  and  if 
vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or  otherwise,  during  the  recess  of  the 
legislature  of  any  state,  the  executive  thereof  may  make  temporary 
appointments  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which  shall  then 
fill  such  vacancies. 

3.  No  person  shall  be  a  Senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  the  age 
of  thirty  years,  and  be  a  citizen  of  the  Confederate  States  ;  and  who 
shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  state  for  which  he  shall 
be  chosen. 

4.  The  Vice-President  of  the  Confederate  States  shall  be  President 
of  the  Senate,  but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

5.  The  Senate  shall  choose  their  other  officers  ;  and  also  a  President 
pro  tempore  in  the  absence  of  the  Vice-President,  or  when  he  shall 
exercise  the  office  of  President  of  the  Confederate  States. 

6.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  try  all  impeachments. 
When  sitting  for  that  purpose,  they  shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation. 
When  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  is  tried,  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice shall  preside ;  and  no  person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  con- 
currence of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

7.  Judgment  in  cases  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than 
to  removal  from  office,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  office 
of  honor,  trust  or  profit,  under  the  Confederate  States  ;  but  the  party 
convicted  shall,  nevertheless,  be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial, 
judgment  and  punishment  according  to  law. 


Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States.  5 

Section  4. 

1.  The  times,  places  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  Senators 
and  Representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  state  by  the  legislature 
thereof,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Constitution  ;  but  the  Congress 
may,  at  any  time,  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except  as  to 
the  times  and  places  of  choosing  Senators. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year;  and  such 
meeting  shall  be  ou  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  shall,  by 
law,  appoint  a  different  day. 

Section  5. 

1.  Each  House  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  returns  and  qual- 
ifications of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  to  do  business ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  from  day  to 
day,  and  may  be  authorised  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members, 
in  such  manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  House  may  provide. 

2.  Each  House  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish 
its  members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  number,  expel  a  member. 

3.  Each  House  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from 
time  to  time  publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may,  in  their 
judgment,  require  secrecy  ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of 
either  House,  on  any  question,  shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those 
present,  be  entered  ou  the  journal. 

4.  Neither  House,  during  the  session  of  Congress,  shall,  without  the 
consent  of  the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  nor  to  any 
other  place  than  that  in  which  the  two  Houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Section  6. 

1.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  shall  receive  a  compensation 
for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  trea- 
sury of  the  Confederate  States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases,  except  trea- 
son, felony,  and  breach  of  the  peace,  be  privileged  from  arrest  during 
their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their  respective  Houses,  and  in  going 
to  and  returning  from  the  same ;  and  for  any  speech  or  debate  in  either 
House,  they  shall  not  be  questioned  in  any  other  place. 

2.  No  Senator  or  Representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he 
was  elected,  be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the 
Confederate  States,  which  shall  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments 
whereof  shall  have  been  increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  person 
holding  any  office  under  the  Confederate  States  shall  be  a  member  of 
either  House  during   his  contiuuanco  in  office.     But  Congress  may,  by 


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6  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 

law,  grant  to  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments 
a  seat  upon  the  floor  of  either  House,  with  the  privilege  of  discussing 
any  raaesures  appertaining  to  his  department. 

Section   1 . 

1.  All  bills  for  raising  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives ;  but  the  Senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  amendments  as 
on  other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  both  Houses,  shall,  before  it 
becomes  a  law,  be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  ; 
if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it ;-  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it  with  his 
objections  to  that  House  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall 
enter  the  objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider 
it.  If,  after  such  reconsideration,  two-thirds  of  that  House  shall  agree 
to  ])ass  the  bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the 
ot  iier  House,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved 
by  two-thirds  of  that  House,  it  shall  become  a  law.  But  in  all  such 
cases,  the  votes  of  both  Houses  shall  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays, 
and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  against  the  bill  shall  be 
entered  on  the  journal  of  each  House  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall 
not  be  returned  by  the  President  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted) 
after  it  shall  have  been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in 
like  manner  as  if  he  had  signed  it,  unless  the  Congress,  by  their  adjourn- 
ment, prevent  its  return  ;  in  which  case  it  shall  not  be  a  law.  The  Presi- 
dent may  approve  any  appropriation  and  disapprove  any  other  appro- 
l)riation  in  the  same  bill.  In  such  case  he  shall,  in  signing  the  bill, 
designate  the  appropriations  disapproved  ;  and  shall  return  a  copy  of 
such  appropriations,  with  his  objections,  to  the  House  in  which  the  bill 
shall  have  originated  ;  and  the  same  proceedings  shall  then  be  had  as 
in  case  of  other  bills  disapproved  by  the  President. 

3.  Every  order,  resolution  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence  of  both 
Houses  may  be  necessary  (except  on  a  question  of  adjournment)  shall 
be  presented  to  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States ;  and  before 
the  same  shall  take  effect,  shall  be  approved  by  him ;  or  being  disap- 
]>roved  by  him,  shall  be  re-passed  by  two-thirds  of  both  Houses  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  case  of  a  bill. 

Section   8. 

The  Congress  shall  have  power — 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises,  for  revenue 
necessary  to  pay  the  debts,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  and  carry 
on  the  government  of  the  Confederate  States;  but  no  bounties  shall  be 
granted  from  the  treasury  ;  nor  shall  any  duties  or  taxes  on  importa- 


Constitution"  of  the  Confederate  States.  7 

tions  from  foreign  nations  be  laid  to  promote  or  foster  any  branch  of 
industry ;  and  all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  through- 
out the  Confederate  States  : 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  Confederate  States  : 

3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the 
several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes  ;  but  neither  this,  nor  any 
other  clause  contained  in  the  constitution,  shall  ever  be  construed  to 
delegate  the  power  to  Congress  to  appropriate  money  for  any  internal 
improvement  intended  to  facilitate  commerce ;  except  for  the  purpose 
of  furnishing  lights,  beacotta,  and  buoys,  and  other  aids  of  navigation 
upon  the  coasts,  and  the  improvement  of  harbors  and  the  removing  of 
obstructions  in  river  navigation,  in  all  which  cases,  such  duties  shall  be 
laid  on  the  navigation  facilitated  thereby,  as  may  be  necessary  to  pay 
the  costs  and  expenses  thereof: 

4.  To  establish  uniform  laws  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on 
the  subject  of  bankruptcies,  throughout  the  Confederate  States,  but  no 
law  of  Congress  shall  discharge  any  debt  contracted  before  the  passage 
of  the  same  : 

5.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof  and  Qf  foreign  coin,  and 
fix  the  standard  of  weights  and  measures  : 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and 
■current  coin  of  the  Confederate  States : 

7.  To  establisli  postoffices  and  post  routes ;  but  the  expenses  of  the 
Postoffice  Department,  after  the  first  day  of  March  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three,  shall  be  paid  out  of  its  own  revenues  : 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  securing 
for  limited  times  to  authors  and  inventors  the  exclusive  right  to  their 
respective  writings  and  discoveries  : 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  sapreme  court : 

10.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high 
seas,  and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations: 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make 
rules  concerning  captures  on  land  and  water : 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies;  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to 
that  use  shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years : 

13.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy: 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land 
and  naval  forces  : 

15.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the 
Confederate  States,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions  : 

10.  To  provide  for  organizing,  arming,  and  disciplining  the  militia, 
and  for  governing  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service 
of  the  Confederate  States ;  reserving  to  the  states,  respectively,  the 
appointment  of  the  officers,  and  the  authority  of  training  the  militia 
according  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by  Congress : 


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8  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 

11.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over 
such  district  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square)  as  may,  by  cession  of  one 
or  more  states  and  the  acceptance  of  Congress,  become  the  seat  of  the 
Government  of  the  Confederate  States ;  and  to  exercise  like  authority 
over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent  of  the  legislature  of  the  state 
in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts,  magazines, 
arsenals,  dockyards,  and  other  needful  buildings :  and 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carry- 
ing into  execution  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested 
by  this  Constitution  in  the  government  of  the  Confederate  States,  or  in 
any  department  or  officer  thereof. 

Section    9. 

1.  The  importation  of  negroes  of  the  African  race,  from  any  foreign 
country,  other  than  the  slaveholding  States  or  Territories  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  is  hereby  forbidden  ;  and  Congress  is  required  to 
pass  such  laws  as  shall  effectually  prevent  the  same. 

2.  Congress  shall  also  have  power  to  prohibit  the  introduction  of 
slaves  from  any  state  not  a  member  of,  or  territory  not  belonging  to, 
this  Confederacy. 

3.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corbus  shall  not  be  suspended, 
unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  re- 
quire it. 

4.  No  bill  of  attainder,  c.j:  2^0^  facto  law,  or  law  denying  or  imparing 
the  right  of  property  in  negro  slaves  shall  be  passed. 

5.  No  capitation  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  propor- 
tion to  the  census  or  enumeration  hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken, 

6.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  state, 
except  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  Houses. 

1.  No  preference  shall  be  given  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or 
revenue  to  the  ports  of  one  state  over  those  of  another. 

8.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  consequence 
of  appropriations  made  by  law  ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account 
of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published 
from  time  to  time. 

9.  Congress  shall  appropriate  no  money  from  the  treasury  except  by 
a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  both  Houses,  taken  by  yeas  and  nays,  unless  it 
be  asked  and  estimated  for  by  some  one  of  the  heads  of  department, 
and  submitted  to  Congress  by  the  President ;  or  for  the  purpose  of 
paying  its  own  expenses  and  contingencies  ;  or  for  the  payment  of 
claims  against  the  Confederate  States,  the  justice  of  which  shall  have 
been  judicially  declared  by  a  tribunal  for  the  investigation  of  claims 
against  the  government,  which  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  Congress 
to  establi^^. 


Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States.  9 

10.  All  bills  appropriating  money  shall  specify  in  federal  currency 
the  exact  amount  of  each  appropriation  and  the  purposes  for  which  it 
is  made  ;  and  Congress  shall  grant  no  extra  compensation  to  any  public 
contractor,  officer,  agent  or  servant,  after  such  contract  shall  have  been 
made  or  such  service  rendered. 

11.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  Confederate  States ; 
and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument, 
office  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever  from  any  king,  prince  or  foreign 
state. 

12.  Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  reli- 
gion, or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom 
of  speech,  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the  people  peaceably  to 
assemble  and  petition  the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

13.  A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free 
state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms  shall  not  be 
infringed. 

14.  No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner ;  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner 
to  be  prescribed  by  law. 

15.  The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses, 
papers,  and  effects  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not 
be  violated  ;  and  no  warrants  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause,  sup- 
ported by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  describing  the  place  to 
be  searched,  and  the  persons  or  things  to  be  seized. 

16.  No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury, 
except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia, 
when  in  actual  service,  in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ;  nor  shall  any 
person  be  subject  for  the  same  offence  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of 
life  or  limb ;  nor  be  compelled,  in  any  criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness 
against  himself;  nor  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without 
due  process  of  law  ;  nor  shall  private  property  be  taken  for  public  use, 
without  just  compensation. 

17.  In  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right  to 
a  speedy  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  state  and  district 
wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  shall  have 
been  previously  ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature 
and  cause  of  the  accusation  ;  to  be  confronted  with  the  witness  against 
him  ;  to  have  compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor ; 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defence. 

18.  In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved  ;  and 
no  fact  so  tried  by  a  jury  shall  be  otherwise  re-examined  in  any  court 
of  the  Confederacy,  than  according  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 


if  fl- 


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oTl  M 


.eljiJ  erfJ  m  T  ;>.  ono  inrf 


TO 


10  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 

19.  Excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishment  inflicted. 

20.  Every  law  or  resolution  having  the  force  of  law,  shall  relate  to 
but  one  subject,  and  that  shall  be  expressed  in  the  title. 

Section    10. 

1.  No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  aUiance,  or  confederation  ; 
grant  lettei-g  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money  ;  make  anything  but 
gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts  ;  pass  any  bill  of 
attainder,  or  ex  jjost  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  con- 
tracts; or  grant  any  title  of  nobility.    "• 

2.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  lay  any  imposts 
or  duties  on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  executing  its  inspection  laws  ;  and  the  nett  produce  of  all 
duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  state  on  imports  or  exports,  shall  be 
for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  Confederate  States  ;  and  all  such  laws 
shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  Congress. 

3.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  Congress,  lay  any  duty  on 
tonnage,  except  on  sea-going  vessels,  for  the  improvement  of  its  rivers 
and  harbors  navigated  by  the  said  vessels  ;  but  such  duties  shall  not 
conflict  with  any  treaties  of  the  Confederate  States  with  foreign  na- 
tions ;  and  any  surplus  revenue,  thus  derived,  shall,  after  making  such 
improvement,  be  paid  into  the  common  treasury.  Nor  shall  any  state 
keep  troops  or  ships  of  war  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement 
or  compact  with  another  state,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in 
war,  unless  actually  invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  delay.  But  when  any  river  divides  or  flows  through  two  or 
more  states,  they  may  enter  into  compacts  with  each  other  to  improve 
the  navigation  thereof. 

ARTICLE   TI. 

Section    1 . 

1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  vested  in  a  President  of  the  Con- 
federate States  of  America.  He  and  the  Vice-President  shall  hold 
their  oflSces  for  the  term  of  six  years ;  but  the  President  shall  not  be 
re-ehgible.  The  President  and  Vice-President  shall  be  elected  as 
■follows : 

2.  Each  state  shall  appoint,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  there- 
of may  direct,  a  number  of  electors  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  to  which  the  state  may  be  entitled  in  the 
Congress  ;  but  no  Senator  or  Representative,  or  person  holding  an 
office  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  Confederate  States,  shall  be  appointed 
an  elector. 


Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States.  11 

3.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states  and  vote  by 
ballot  for  President  and  Vice-President,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  shall 
not  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state  with  themselves  ;  they  shall  namo 
in  their  ballots  the  person  voted  for  as  President,  and  in  distinct  ballots 
the  person  voted  for  as  Yice-President,  and  they  shall  make  distinct 
lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  President,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for 
as  Yice-President,  and  of  the  number  of  votes  for  each,  which  lists  they 
shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit,  sealed,  to  the  seat  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Confederate  States,  directed  to  the  President  of  the  Senate  ; 
the  President  of  the  Senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall 
then  be  counted  ;  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for 
President  shall  be  the  President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the 
whole  number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  such  ma- 
jority, then,  from  the  persons  having  the  highest  numbers,  not  exceed- 
ing three,  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  President,  the  House  of 
Representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the  President. 
But  in  choosing  the  President,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states,  the 
represantation  from  each  state  having  one  vote ;  a  quorum  for  this 
purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the 
states,  and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 
And  if  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  not  choose  a  President, 
whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall  devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth 
day  of  March  next  following,  then  the  Vice-President  shall  act  as  Pre- 
sident, as  in  case  of  the  death,  or  other  constitutional  disability  of  the 
President. 

4.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  Vice-President, 
shall  be  the  Vice-President,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole 
number  of  electors  appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then, 
from  the  two  highest  numbers  on  the  list  the  Senate  shall  choose  the 
Vice-President ;  a  quorum  for  the  purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds 
of  the  whole  number  of  Senators,  and  a  majority  of  the  whole  number 
shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

5.  But  no  person  constitutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  President 
shall  be  eligible  to  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  Confederate  States. 

6.  The  Congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors, 
and  the  day  on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes  :  which  day  shall  be 
the  same  throughout  the  Confederate  States. 

7.  No  person  except  a  natural-born  citizen  of  the  Confederate  States, 
or  a  citizen  thereof,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  Constitution, 
or  a  citizen  thereof  born  in  the  United  States  prior  to  the  20th  of 
December,  1860,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  President;  neither 
shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office  who  shall  not  have  attained 
the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within 
the  limits  of  the  Confederate  States,  as  they  may  exist  at  the  time  of 
his  election. 


earn. 

■fo/fi 
lol  ■ 

baa  oinnski 


odi  io  \  i 

-am  rfojj,  .'  /. 

-Bsaoxa  I'i. 
^0  ■ 


..,|4 


i.ff: 


i,iU.  ii 


12  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 

8.  Ill  case  of  the  removal  of  the  President  from  office,  or  of  his  death, 
resignation,  or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said 
office,  the  same  shall  devolve  on  the  Vice-President;  and  the  Congress 
may,  by  law,  provide  for  the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or 
inability  both  of  the  President  and  Vice-President,  declaring  what 
officer  shall  then  act  as  President,  and  such  officer  shall  act  accordingly 
until  the  disability  be  removed  or  a  President  shall  be  elected. 

9.  The  President  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services  a 
compensation,  which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during 
the  period  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected  ;  and  he  shall  not  re- 
ceive within  that  period  any  other  emolument  from  the  Confederate 
States,  or  any  of  them. 

10.  Before  he  enters  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the 
following  oath  or  affirmation  : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  execute  the 
office  of  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  will  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  thereof." 

Section    2. 

1.  The  President  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  Confederate  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  states,  when 
called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  Confederate  States  ;  he  may  re- 
quire the  opinion,  in  writing,  of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the 
executive  departments,  upon  any  subject  relating  to  the  duties  of  their 
respective  offices ;  and  he  shall  have  power  to  grant  reprieves  and 
pardons  for  offences  against  the  Confederate  States,  except  in  cases  of 
impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate,  to  make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present 
concur ;  and  he  shall  nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate,  shall  appoint  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers  and 
consuls,  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the 
Confederate  States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein  otherwise  pro- 
vided for,  and  which  shall  be  established  by  law ;  but  the  Congress 
may,  by  law,  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers,  as  they 
think  proper,  in  the  I'resident  alone,  in  the  courts  of  laws  or  in  the 
heads  of  departments. 

3.  The  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  and 
all  persons  connected  with  the  diplomatic  service,  may  be  removed  from 
office  at  the  pleasure  of  the  President.  All  other  civil  officers  of  the 
executive  department  may  be  removed  at  any  time  by  the  President, 
or  other  appointing  power,  when  their  services  are  unnecessary,  or  for 
dishonesty,  incapacity,  inefficiency,  misconduct,  or  neglect  of  duty  ;  and 
when  so  removed,  thp  removal  shall  be  reported  to  the  Senate,  together 
with  the  rpasons  llierefor. 


Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States.  13 

4.  The  President  shall  have  power  to  fill  all  vacancies  that  may- 
happen  during  the  recess  of  the  Senate,  by  granting  commission  which 
shall  expire  at  the  end  of  their  next  session ;  but  no  person  rejected  by  the 
Senate  shall  be  re-appointed  to  the  same  office  during  their  ensuing  recess. 

Section   3. 

1.  The  President  shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress  in- 
formation of  the  state  of  the  Confederacy,  and  recommend  to  their  con- 
sideration such  meausures  as  he  shall  judge  necessary  and  expedient ; 
he  may,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  convene  both  Houses,  or  either  of 
them  ;  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them,  with  respect  to  the 
time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as  he  shall 
think  proper ;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  other  public  ministers  ; 
he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,  and  shall  com- 
mission all  the  oflScers  of  the  Confederate  States. 

Section   4. 

1.  The  President,  Vice-President,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  Con- 
federate States,  shall  be  remdved  from  office  on  impeachment  for,  and 
conviction  of,  treason,  bribery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE    III. 

Section   1 . 

1.  The  judicial  power  of  the  Confederate  States  shall  be  vested  in  one 
Supreme  Court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  Congress  may  from 
time  to  time  ordain  and  establish.  The  Judges,  both  of  the  supreme 
and  inferior  courts,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavior,  and 
shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  their  services  a  compensation,  which 
shall  not  be  diminished  during  their  continuance  in  office. 

Section    2. 

1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases  arising  under  this 
Constitution,  the  laws  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  treaties  made  or 
which  shall  be  made  under  their  authority  ;  to  all  cases  affecting  am- 
bassadors, other  public  ministers  and  consuls ;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty 
and  maritime  jurisdiction  ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  Confederate 
States  shall  be  a  party  ;  controversies  between  two  or  more  states  ;  be- 
tween a  state  and  citizen  of  another  state  where  the  state  is  plaintiff;  be- 
tween citizens  claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  states;  and  between 
a  state  or  the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens  or  subjects ; 
but  no  state  shall  be  sued  by  a  citizen  or  subject  of  any  foreign  state. 


,17  Ifo  113  oi  tOTfoq  07flrf  llnrfa  ^nabias'i*!  9iiT  .^ 


•A  .frnrf 


T   .1 


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•  V(\ 


14  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers,  and 
consuls,  and  those  in  which  a  state  shall  be  a  party,  the  supreme  court 
shall  have  original  jurisdiction.  In  all  the  other  cases  before  mentioned, 
the  supreme  court  shall  have  appellate  jurisdiction,  both  as  to  law  and 
fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under  such  regulations,  as  the  Congress 
shall  make. 

3.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be 
by  jury,  and  such  trial  shall  be  held  in  the  state  where  the  said  crimes 
shall  have  been  committed  ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  state, 
the  trial  shall  be  at  such  place  or  places  as  the  Congress  may  by  law 
have  directed. 

Section    3. 

1.  Treason  against  the  Confederate  States  shall  consist  only  in,  levying 
war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and 
comfort.  No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on  the  testimony 
of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act  or  on  confession  in  open  court. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  trea* 
son,  but  no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  l)]ood,  or  for' 
feiture,  except  during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE    lY. 

Section    1. 

1.  Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  state  to  the  public  acts, 
records  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  state.  And  the  Con- 
gress may,  by  general  laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts, 
records,  and  proceedings  shall  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 

Section    2. 

1.  The  citizens  of  each  state  shall  b(!  entitled  to  all  the  i>rivileges  and 
immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  states,  and  shall  have  the  right  of 
transit  and  sojourn  in  any  state  of  this  Confederacy,  with  their  slaves 
and  other  })roperty :  and  the  right  of  property  in  said  slaves  shall  not 
be  thereby  impaired. 

2.  A  person  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime 
against  the  laws  of  such  state,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found 
in  another  state,  shall,  oh  demand  of  the  executive  authority  of  the 
state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  l^e  removed  to  the  state 
having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

3.  No  slave  or  other  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  any  state  or 
territory  of  the  Confederate  States,  under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  or 
lawfully  carried  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law  or  regula- 
tion therein,  be  discharged  from  such  service  or  labor:  but  shall  be  de- 


Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States.  15 

livered  up  on  claim  of  the  party  to  whom  such  slave  belongs,  or  to 
whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

Section    3. 

1.  Other  states  may  be  admitted  into  this  Confederacy  by  a  vote  of 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  House  of  Representatives,  and  two-thirds  of 
the  Senate,  the  Senate  voting  by  states ;  but  no  new  ptate  shall  be 
formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  state ;  nor  any 
state  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  states,  or  parts  of  states, 
without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  states  concerned  as  well  as 
of  the  Congress. 

2.  The  Congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful 
rules  and  regulations  concerning  the  property  of  the  Confederate  States, 
including  the  lands  thereof 

3.  The  Confederate  States  may  acquire  new  territory  ;  and  Congress 
shall  have  power  to  legislate  and  provide  governments  for  the  inhabi* 
tants  of  all  territory  belonging  to  the  Confederate  States,  lying  without 
the  limits  of  the  several  states ;  and  may  permit  them,  at  such  times, 
and  in  such  manner  as  it  may  by  law  provide,  to  form  states  to  be  ad» 
mitted  into  the  Confederacy.  In  all  such  territory,  the  institution  of 
negro  slavery  as  it  now  exists  in  the  Confederate  States,  shall  be  re- 
cognized and  protected  by  Congress,  and  by  the  territorial  governments, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  Confederate  States  and  Territories, 
shall  have  the  riglit  to  take  to  such  territory  any  slaves  lawfully  held 
by  them  in  any  of  the  states  or  territories  of  the  Confederate  States. 

4.  The  Confederate  States  shall  guaranty  to  every  state  that  now  is 
or  hereafter  may  become  a  member  of  this  Confederacy,  a  republican 
form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion ; 
and  on  application  of  the  legislature  (or  of  the  executive  when  the 
legislature  is  not  in  session)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE    V. 
Section    1  , 

1.  Upon  the  demand  of  any  three  states,  legally  assembled  in  their 
several  conventions,  the  Congress  shall  summon  a  convention  of  all  the 
states,  to  take  into  consideration  sucfi  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
as  the  said  states  shall  concur  in  suggesting  at  the  time  when  the  said 
demand  is  made  )  and  should  any  of  the  proposed  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  be  agreed  on  by  the  said  convention-=^voting  by  states — 
and  the  same  be  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several 
states,  or  by  conventions  in  two-thirds  thereof — as  the  one  or  the  other 
mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  general  convention — they 
shall  thenceforward  form  a  part  of  this  Constitution.  But  no  state  shall, 
without  its  consent,  be  deprived  of  its  equal  representation  in  the  Senate: 


;itat8  aTAaaasi'aJioO  mht  io  /.oiTUTiTaKoO 

.■nib  Oil  nhr 


riirij  ojfii  b8i«Trcni)j;  -ioiIjO  .1 


3.^ 


16  Constitution  of  the  Confederate  States. 

ARTICLE    VI 

1.  The  Government  establised  by  this  Constitution  is  the  successor 
of  the  Provisional  Government  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America, 
and  all  the  laws  passed  by  the  latter  shall  continue  in  force  until  the 
same  shall  be  repealed  or  modified ;  and  all  the  oflScers  appointed  by 
the  same  shall  remain  in  office  until  their  successors  are  appointed  and 
qualified,  or  the  offices  abolished. 

2.  All  debts  contracted  and  engagements  entered  into  before  the 
adoption  of  this  Constitution  shall  be  as  valid  against  the  Confederate 
States  under  this  Constitution  as  under  the  Provisional  Government. 

3.  This  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  Confederate  States,  made 
in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made  under 
the  authority  of  the  Confederate  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the 
land ;  and  the  judges  in  every  state  shall  be  bound  thereby,  anything 
in  the  constitution  or  laws  of  any  state  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

4.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the 
members  of  the  several  state  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial 
officers,  both  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  of  the  several  states,  shall 
be  bound  by  oath  or  affirmation,  to  support  this  Constitution  ;  and  no 
religious  test  shall  ever  be  required  as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or 
public  trust  under  the  Confederate  States. 

5.  The  enumeration,  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall  not 
be  construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  people  of  the 
several  states. 

6.  The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  Confederate  States  by  the  Con- 
stitution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to  the  states, 
respectively,  or  to  the  people  thereof. 

ARTICLE   VII 

1.  The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  five  states  shall  be  sufficient 
for  the  establishment  of  this  Constitution  between  the  states  so  ratifying 
the  same, 

2.  When  five  states  shall  have  ratified  this  Constitution,  in  the  manner 
before  specified,  the  Congress  under  the  Provisional  Constitution,  shall 
prescribe  the  time  for  holding  the  election  of  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent ;  and,  for  the  meeting  of  the  Electoral  College  ;  and,  for  countjttg 


,W" 


the  votes,  and  inaugurating  the  President,  They  shall,  also,  prescWiJ?« 
the  time  for  holding  the  first  election  of  members  of  Congress  und^rtlis 
Constitution,  and  the  time  for  assembling  the  same.  IT<j^ii^Ui£.i as- 
sembling of  such  Congress,  the  Congress  undt;r  tfie  Provisional  Consti- 
tution shall  continue  to  exercise  the  legislative  powers  granted  them ; 
not  extending  beyond  the  time  limited  by  the  Constitution  of  the  Provi- 
sional Government. 


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